It was a good night of pool.  My team won 3-2 and I won my match 4-1.  I was having some trouble the past couple of weeks so I changed some things up.  I got a new glove.  I replaced my chalk.  I re-shaped my tip and all of a sudden my confidence came back and I got my mojo back.  I was making good shots and good decisions and played pretty much mistake-free pool the entire night except for one miss on the 8 that lead to my only loss.

One thing happened on the way home that wasn't so cool though.  I'm approaching an intersection and the light is green for me.  I hear the squealing of tires and look to my left and see a biker just eat it as he's coming cross-ways at the same intersection.  I whip the truck around to make sure he's ok and he's up and walking when I get back to the intersection.  He had gotten his bike upright and I asked him if he was ok.  He insisted that he was and I noticed that he was bleeding from his head (not wearing a helmet), his shoulder and his arm (also not wearing a protective jacket).  I pointed out to him that he was bleeding, mentioned that I also ride and he said "Well then you know you don't want some jackass calling 911 if you get a scrape after having a few."  After he said that I realized that a) he had been drinking and b) he wasn't going to accept any help at all.  I was glad to see that he was ok, but irritated that people ride without proper protection and after they've been drinking.  As a motorcyclist myself I treat every ride and every decision I make with the utmost respect, because the wrong choice at the wrong time can kill me and I don't want to die.  I always wear protective gear, including a full helmet, gloves, jacket, boots, long pants, etc.  I don't have *any* drinks if I'm going to be riding.  Zero tolerance on that.  I don't care if I'm riding 5 hours from now.  No drinking before riding.  Again, I've got too much to live for and don't need anything that can screw that up.

My soapbox message for tonight is don't drink and drive/ride/boat/fly.  The life you save might be your own.

Last night I took Elizabeth to her first Stars game this season.  The Stars lost, but it was a great time.  She was enthralled by the game and was very happy to be spending time with her daddy.  She behaved very well and I also had a great time being able to share something that I'm passionate about with her.  She got a few goodies while she was there to remember the time and it's a memory I'll cherish for a long time. 

The Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Detroit vs Colorado.

It doesn't matter what round.

It's awesome.  Beating Colorado is almost better than winning the Cup.

Almost.

My two favorite hockey teams are Detroit and whoever is playing Colorado.

Bought the tickets for our trip to Michigan in September.  We were going to borrow a friend's RV but with gas going up it's no longer an economical option.  Essentially 2400 miles round trip at 10 mpg = 240 gallons of gas * $4/gallon = $960.  Even if you low ball it at $3/gallon that's $720, plus it takes 2 days each way which requires a stop at a camp site, RV park, etc.  I got three airline tickets for $696 nonstop from DFW to DTW.  We've got a friend that is going to take care of our pets, so that part won't be an issue either.  We'll rent a car  when we get to Michigan, but that should be reasonable considering it won't be a holiday time.  The trip is nearly 5 months away so by the time the trip comes we won't even think too much about cost considering I paid cash for the tickets up front today.  Our Vegas trip was like that too where we got the airfare and hotel paid for in advance, so when the trip comes we can just go have a good time.

In hockey news Detroit and Dallas both won their series today in the first round of the playoffs.  I'm happy for both teams, as Detroit is really my favorite, but Dallas is the team in my town.  Both teams are playing well and have a good chance at going all the way.  If they both win the next round they'll play each other, which would be very cool.  Elizabeth has been watching a lot of the games with me too, which is also a very cool thing.  I haven't watched much hockey this season, so it's nice to be able to watch the playoffs.  One really cool thing about Detroit and Dallas winning is that they are both puck possession and finesse teams and the teams they beat tend to be a bit goonish and like to just run into people, take cheap shots and hurt people.  Chris Pronger, who plays for Anaheim, is a thug and nothing makes me happier than to see him lose.  Go Wings!  Go Stars!

Here are some of the names we're kicking around as possibles for a boy if we have one.  Let me know which one you like and why.

The Red Wings won tonight.  I was a little concerned, but they pulled it off.  They now have two games to put Nashville away and advance.

Dallas lost tonight though.  I went to the game last night and they played awesomely, but Anaheim really wanted it more it seems.  Dallas now has two games to put Anaheim away and advance.

It's difficult to be environmentally conscious *and* practical at the same time.

As my family expands and the price of gas rises I wish that I could swap vehicles based on need.

I'd like my truck for when I have a need to haul stuff, which happens often since I have a house, a kid, a golden retriever and a mother that just bought a house nearby.  It's also handy for hauling people since it holds 5 people quite comfortably.  I don't want to commute with it though due to its low fuel economy.

I'd like my motorcycle for commuting and rides with the wife.  It's very economical for operation and fuel but isn't good when the weather is bad.  It's also not useful when stops need to be made for picking up people or stuff.

I'd like a hybrid and/or electric car for commuting and short trips around town when the motorcycle isn't feasible to use.  Unfortunately cost prohibits me from having one and the large batteries tend to reduce storage in the truck.

I'd like a minivan for road trips and the times when groups of us want to go out.  Even though they are fairly economical, for a daily driver for Evie it's not as economical as our sedan.  With 2 adults, 2 kids (with car seats) it can accommodate 2 or 3 more people as well, making us not have to take multiple vehicles when we have family in town, want to go out with friends, etc.

So what's the best compromise?  On one hand I'd like to keep our sedan since it is more than half paid off, but on the other hand it's going to get tough once the baby comes.  My truck will have a year left on the lease when the baby is born so maybe trade the truck in for the minivan when that lease is up and then keep the paid off sedan for a daily driver when I can't take my bike.

We'll just see how it goes and play it by ear.

To paraphrase George Carlin a bit...

Leftovers are good because they make you feel smart twice.

First, when you put them in the refrigerator you think "I'm saving food!"

Then, three weeks later when you throw them away you think "I'm saving my life!"

I hate to waste food, but I still wonder why I keep things that I don't ever wind up eating again.

Evie and I got confirmation today that she's currently 8 weeks pregnant.  The dr did an ultrasound and sure enough, we had a lima bean there blinking away happy as can be.  Evie's due on November 19th, but because we're having a C-Section it'll be born sooner than that, probably the 9th or 10th-ish.

It's an odd feeling for me really.  I'm happy but also nervous about the changes and challenges that await us.  Having one child is definitely simpler than having 2, so it'll be really interesting to see what is coming.  One challenge it presents is Evie's work.  She doesn't make enough to justify her working with two kids in daycare, so she may end up not going back to work after the next kid is born, which presents new challenges of more expense plus less income.  Thankfully we have a few months to figure that out.  With my mom here in town we might be able to leverage her a bit with the childcare as well, so we'll see.

Another challenge is where to put the little one.  We have a four bedroom place and Elizabeth currently occupies one of the bedrooms and Evie and I share the master bedroom of course.  The other two bedrooms are used as offices for Evie and I.  She has hers with her scrapbooking stuff and I have mine with my computers and guitars.  Now at first it's not a big deal, as we can put the new kid in my office without too much issue, but eventually the child will get bigger and will need it's own room.  Evie and I have too much stuff to combine our offices so we may wind up looking for a larger place in the next few years.

Then there is the issue with names.  We've already got a girl name picked out, Katherine Ilaine, that we had picked from when Evie was pregnant before, but still haven't found the right boy name.  I'm very picky about names, as I think that names have an influence on how a person's life can turn out.  We'd like to use William as a middle name in honor of my best friend and grandfather, but haven't found a first name that goes with it that just jumps out at us.

Probably my biggest concern of all though, is that I want to have the same level of love and devotion and interest in both children.  I want them both to feel lots of love from day 1 and not have one feel slighted by the other.  I know that's really a perfect world scenario and hurt feelings will happen, but I want to minimize it as much as possible.

I've apparently picked up some crud.  I've been running a fever for the last day and just generally feel like crap.  I hate this cycle of freezing cold as the temp spikes then sweating to death after taking tylenol and the fever breaks. 

To top it all off, a cluster is horked at the office and since I'm the SME on clusters I've been called non-stop since 4am.  Thankfully the vendor is onsite now so there shouldn't be much more that I need to do.  Just getting little bits of sleep here and there aren't helping things any.

Went out last night for a co-worker's birthday.  It was fun except for being sick.  On the way to go get Elizabeth from the sitter Evie got way carsick and I had to stop numerous times so she could jump out and throw up.  That made for a long ride home, but we made it.

All in all we're both feeling like crap.

The comic who wrote this used to live in the Bay Area and now lives near Austin, Texas.  Having made a similar move myself I find this particularly hilarious.

http://www.reallifecomics.com/archive/080324.html

About 5 years ago there was a fire at a nightclub in Rhode Island where Great White was playing.  100 people died and about 200 were injured.  VH1 just did a special to raise money for the victims families and the survivors.  While I was watching the show it hit me that something like that could've happened to me during my years of going to shows all the time and I'm quite thankful that it didn't.

I pray for the victims, their families and the survivors of this horrible tragedy and hope that nothing like this ever happens again.  It's a tragedy for the music industry in many different ways as well, which will be a long time in recovery.

When is a chair not a chair?

Apparently a chair isn't a chair when it's a recliner.

I bought a living room set from a local furniture place and when it arrived, I discovered the chair portion of the set wasn't the recliner that was part of the display.  It was just a chair.  I called customer service and they say it's an orders issue and I need to talk to my salesperson.

I went up to the store and talked to the salesperson.  We went over to the display and discovered that the recliner is different than what comes in the package.  The package comes with just a chair.  The recliner is an upgrade.  I don't mind that it is an upgrade, but I wish the salesperson told me that before the freakin chair arrived at my house.  They're going to swap it out, but it will be a slight hassle.

Why do I have to break a tooth tonight?  One that has already been fixed btw.  Now it'll be hell getting that fixed before pictures at church on Sunday.

I just got summoned for Jury Duty.

I don't mind the civil service portion of it all, but it tends to just be a major waste of a day.  Once in a while you'll get picked for a jury, which I suppose can be rather interesting, but most of the time you just wait and wait and wait and wait and nothing happens.

The last time I got picked I had to go to Detroit at 7am.  At least this time I'm just reporting to my City Hall, which is just down the street and I don't have to be there until 1:15pm.

My pool league has this thing called the Topgun.  Basically each player has a handicap and when you beat someone you earn Topgun points equal to that person's handicap.  The person with the highest Topgun score at the end of the session gets a trophy.  I've never won it before or even really been in contention for it, but this session I'm actually in first place.  I'm 6 of 7 in league play for 26 points so far.  Hopefully I can keep it up.

You may wonder why I'm blogging at 1:30am.  I'm actually winding down from a long day.  I had to go off-site today to work on a data center transition project that was nearly an hour away and then head off to league to finish out the night there.  I also had maintenance to do during all of this so I'm pretty much done for the night.

It's off to bed for me as tomorrow will likely be another long busy day.

Ok, so it wasn't the only reason.

We're getting snow here in Texas that they haven't seen since the 1920's.  They are predicting 4-6 inches for my area.

Dirty bitches.

It'll be gone by tomorrow afternoon, but it will screw up the commutes for tonight and tomorrow.

Nothing like bouncing back from a loss with a great win.  I played very well last night at league and couldn't be happier.  My game is definitely improving and that makes me feel good.  Before when I would lose it could (and usually did) create a slump and my head would be screwed up for weeks.